Farmcrest Park To Receive 620 Planted Trees Funded Through Community Donations

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The City of Peterborough is planting 620 new trees in Farmcrest Park on Sept. 24 after receiving several community donations announced on Thursday.

File photo.

Organizations such as RBC Dominion Securities, the Excelsior Group, Peterborough Homes, the Rotary Club of Peterborough and GreenUP helped provide funding and/or volunteers for the urban forest project.

The planting is part of the City’s Urban Forest Strategic Plan and is in addition to the City’s regular tree planting program which sees about 400 trees planted annually.

“This has evolved into a wonderful community project and we sincerely thank our partners,” says Councillor Lesley Parnell, Chair of the City’s arenas, parks and recreation portfolio. “These 620 new trees, in addition to the City’s yearly complement, are most welcome.”

RBC started the initiative with a generous donation of $10,000 through the RBC Foundation.

“We are committed to helping our communities thrive by supporting initiatives such as the City of Peterborough’s Sustainable Community Project,” says Graham Culp, branch director. “This project aligns to our existing commitment to greening communities. Since 2020, we have planted 25,000 trees through Tree Canada’s National Greening Program, as our way of saying thanks to our clients who have switched to paperless statements.”

A GTA-based development company The Excelsior Group contributed $5,000 to the tree planting initiative after participating in a similar event held last year in Rotary Park.

“Excelsior Group is extremely proud to be supporting this initiative. By planting trees, not only are we enriching our environment and surrounding community but we are planting hope for the future,” said Satish Thakkar, president/C.E.O. of Excelsior Group “As trees act as a vessel for supporting life on earth, this initiative supports our mission to Build Inspiring Spaces.”

Volunteers from RBC and the Rotary Club of Peterborough will get digging to plant the new trees. The plantings will be adjacent to the off-leash dog park with some larger trees adjacent to the parking lot area and along the pathway.

“The Rotary Club of Peterborough was the catalyst behind the Farmcrest off-leash dog park,” says Kevin Duguay, former Rotary Club president. “We are now pleased to partner with RBC Dominion Securities, the Excelsior Group, Peterborough Homes, the Rotary Club of Peterborough, and GreenUP to introduce over 600 trees in the Farmcrest Park and enhance the area.”

Any wanting to volunteer can complete the online registration form for one of the following three timeslots at www.peterborough.ca/TreesforPTBO:

“Planting a tree is the simplest way to mitigate climate change. Donations, partnerships and public education are all needed to protect our urban forest canopy.,” said Michael Papadacos, the City’s manager of infrastructure management. “The City’s urban forest has lost approximately 10 per cent of its canopy in the last five years and that was prior to the devastating impact the May derecho had on our urban forest. Planting new trees is a high priority.”

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